Description
How, and to what extent, do actors on the margins of an international organisation (IO) exert their influence? In contrast to a monolithic view of IOs, as well as discursive and policy-based analysis of NATO’s construction of climate change as a threat, which prevail in most studies, the aim of this communication is to shift the focus from NATO’s political centre of gravity, and to consider external actors that have been playing their part in institutionalizing climate issues into NATO’s mandate. Rooted in a sociological approach to international organisations, I emphasize the role of immediate organizational environment and boundaries to broaden the analytical perspective on organizational change. The main argument underlying this communication is that stimulating, and encouraging, the politicized consideration of climate issues at NATO does not initially come from NATO’s political pillar, made up of the Allies and the Secretariat, but rather from NATO’s organisational margins. Thus, this work takes as a case study the political relations between NATO and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA), from the 1980s until today. More precisely, it will thoroughly analyze the practices of influence of the PA to spur NATO Allies to treat climate change not just as a scientific problem, but more importantly as a political one. These practices include, among others: reporting and spotlighting issues; informal, and formal lobbying; building social bridges between the two organizations. In turn, I will show that PA’s influence vis-à-vis NATO is primarily indirect. This communication relies on an empirical-inductive analysis, based on NATO archives (comments on the recommendations and resolutions adopted by the PA, from the Secretary-General and members states), as well as those of PA (committees reports, annual session reports), supplemented by a dozen interviews with members of the PA, in post between the 1980s and today, and online documentation.
